


The Bright Side of This Life

by hazelNuts



Series: 2017 Winter/Holiday Mini-Fic Extravaganza [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Derek, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 06, Spark Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 13:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13190826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: ravenwolf36 said: "So a prompt for Sterek for the Winter Extravaganza. Stiles leaves Beacon Hills after the events with Anuk-Ite, and moves to SF. He doesn't keep in contact with any of the pack except Derek who stayed. The text throughout the year and finally Derek gets up the nerve to ask him to come home. I'll leave it to you to decide where this goes. Magical!Stiles and Alpha!Derek would be lovely. "





	The Bright Side of This Life

**Author's Note:**

> If you think I forgot any tags, please let me know in the comments.
> 
> Want to request a winter/holiday mini-fic? [HERE](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/post/167815698821/winterholiday-mini-fic-extravaganza-i-had-a-ton) is the masterpost

Derek doesn’t think about.

<< **Are you coming home for Christmas?**

He hits send, then immediately puts his phone face down on the table. He almost jumps out of his skin when his phone buzzes immediately after.

>> Not sure where home is at the moment

Again, Derek doesn’t think about it, just presses the call button.

_‘Derek?_ _’_

He lets out a long breath. It’s so good to hear Stiles’ voice.

‘Hey.’

 _‘Fuck,_ _’_ Stiles chokes out. It sounds like he’s holding in a sob. _‘I really fucking missed your voice, dude. I miss you. And, you know, everyone else, of course. Not just you. But you, too. Which I already said._ _’_

‘I miss you, too, Stiles,’ Derek assures him. He can’t help it, he’s smiling from ear to ear. His heart is beating erratically in his chest.

_‘Good._ _’_

They’re silent for a moment. Derek’s not sure if he should break it or wait for Stiles to do it. He almost expects Stiles to be the one to do it, but the moment stretches on.

‘Stiles?’ he eventually says.

_‘Yeah?_ _’_

‘What did you mean when you said you weren’t sure where home is right now?’

_‘Home is supposed to be a place you miss, right? The place you long to go back to after you_ _’ve been away for a while?_ _’_

‘I guess,’ Derek says. He’s never really had that. He has people he wants to go back to, wants to surround himself with. Maybe it’s a werewolf thing. Home isn’t a place, it’s pack.

 _‘I don_ _’t feel that anymore. I might as well sleep at work. I feel just as much at home there as I do in my apartment._ _’_ Stiles sighs. _‘I thought things would get better after I moved away from Beacon Hills, but I feel_ _… adrift._ _’_

‘Don’t you have anyone there?’ Derek asks. He’s getting worried. He wants to drag Stiles back to Beacon Hills, or just go to San Francisco and stay with Stiles, but he doesn’t want to push.

_‘Some friends, colleagues I have drinks with a couple times a month. There_ _’s so much I can_ _’t talk about with them, though. And it_ _’s not like I can just hit up the local werewolf pack, because the entire reason that I moved here is because I wanted some space from all the supernatural crap._ _’_

‘Right,’ Derek says. He can’t help but feel rejected. He’s a werewolf, he’s part of the supernatural crap Stiles is keeping his distance from. Sometimes he wonders why Stiles chose him out of everyone in the pack to stay in contact with, and not someone who was at least human at some point.

 _‘I_ _’m sorry,_ _’_ Stiles quickly continues. _‘I didn_ _’t mean it like that. I just meant_ _… Fuck. I don_ _’t know what I meant._ _’_

‘Stiles, I get it. Being part of this isn’t always easy, and you’ve only ever seen the ugly side of it.’

 _‘There_ _’s a beautiful side to all this?_ _’_ Stiles sounds sceptic.

‘In the right place, at the right time, it’ll leave you breathless with wonder,’ Derek says. He hasn’t gotten a chance to see much of the wonders of the supernatural world himself, but he knows they’re out there, and wants to visit them all.

 _‘Can you show me?_ _’_ Stiles asks.

‘Of course.’

~

‘This better be worth it,’ Stiles grumbles, ducking further into his coat.

Derek doesn’t say it, but he agrees. All the hype about fossegrimen better live up to reality. They’re south of Oslo to avoid the worst of the Norwegian winter, but it’s still freezing. The snow on the hike to the waterfall was up to their ankles, and it’s supposed to get even higher in the next couple days.

He keeps a tight hold of Stiles’ hand to make sure he doesn’t slip on the wet rocks as they make their way to the water’s edge.

‘I don’t get many werewolves here,’ a voice says. It’s musical and playful, with a thick Norwegian accent. ‘Plenty of sparks, though.’

Derek turns around. There’s a young man standing next to the waterfall, wearing a pair of boots, dark jeans, and a tank top. He’s pretty, his blond hair long and wild, and his eyes a piercing, icy blue. His skin is almost as white as the snow. No one could mistake him for human.

‘And I don’t think I’ve ever seen this combination before,’ the fossegrim continues. ‘An Alpha werewolf and an untrained spark.’

‘Not surprised since it’s a fucking nightmare to get here,’ Stiles says. He almost slips then, and wraps his arms around Derek to keep himself steady. Derek decides to just carry him the rest of the way to make things easier.

The fossegrim looks between them with amusement. ‘Well, I suppose you have come to hear me play on this Christmas Eve.’

Derek reaches the edge of the water, sets Stiles down, but keeps his arm around him.

‘We have,’ Stiles nods. He digs through his backpack and holds out the package. ‘We brought this for you.’

The fossegrim opens the package, then whoops in delight and wonder at the sight of the meat and vodka. ‘You know you only have to pay if you want to learn how to play.’

‘We know,’ Derek says. ‘But it is Christmas Eve.’

‘I like you two,’ the fossegrim decides. ‘I’ll play you my very best songs. Songs to make the snow dance with the trees, to make the rocks bloom, and the waterfall stop in amazement.’ He places the food and drink on a ledge in the rocks, and puts the fiddle to his shoulder. ‘They might even warm you up a bit,’ he adds with a wink. He sets the bow to the strings and begins to play.

Derek looks at Stiles and finds Stiles looking back at him. Stiles darts in for a quick kiss.

‘Thank you,’ he says, smiling. He cuddles closer to Derek.

‘Anytime,’ Derek assures him.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


End file.
